Ordeal
by Candy-Vegetto
Summary: A decade passed since Gravity Falls' incident. Mabel is the only one who's in town. Meanwhile, Gideon and Pacifica start having dreams of Gravity Falls. Wanting to get to the bottom of it, they go there with no clue what happened a decade ago. Their only
1. Chapter 1

**Ordeal**

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

Gravity Falls just hasn't been itself in ten years. It was a small town in the middle of virtually nowhere, filled to the brim with the supernatural and the science fiction. It was like a childrens' book with no limit to how great it could be. Ghosts, shapeshifters, demons, zombies, cloning, shrinking, rainbows, time travel and inter-dimensional portals. In Gravity Falls, gnomes were weirder than you think, and teens could potentially eat your brains.

Then it hit a limit.

* * *

Mabel Pines, single child of Mason and Annabelle Pines, was trudging through an abandoned convenience store. The counter had been splattered with zombie guts and most of the shelves have been toppled over. The brunette blew out some bubblegum, before leaving the haunted place. She tossed the gas canister that was in her hands and admired her work. Sighing at the dreaded building, she pulled out a match stick and lit it.

The tall woman turned and flung it over her shoulder, and it lit the trail of gasoline into the store. The brunette hid her green eyes under a pair of sunglasses, and walked off. The place went up in flames, even patterning itself to show the outline of a symbol. It was done subconsciously, but it was that cartoony drawing of a shooting star.

"Zombies..." she muttered, shoving her cold hands into her coat pockets. "Trust no one..."

Mabel had this ominous sense for danger, so when her gut tells her to run, she does it. It might be because she was potentially insane, but it's been proven from time to time to save her life. From ambushes, to escaping monsters, and going on the right path. It was just her own thing. It's been so long since she felt happy. This was her burden, to stay in this murky place. To stay in Gravity Falls, even after the... gravity falls event.

She tried running away, going anywhere but here, but this place haunted her. She just didn't feel right being gone from this place, and the farther she went, the more tired she got. Tired from sickness, headaches, complete body malfunction, and even nightmares. She couldn't sleep.

This was the only place sleep was peaceful, where there weren't any poetic visions. They were just normal dreams, or just no dreams at all. But most of the time, she'd lie awake, tearing up at how her life had gone to crap. She had so many opportunities, to start over, to free herself from this. She had the chance to wipe out her memory of all this, and she'd be scot-free from all the pain. But she didn't do that. Her friends and family have. She couldn't.

Mabel just didn't want to forget her time here.

With her twin brother.

Her nose started bleeding. "Not now..."

She toppled over and a wave of nausea runs over her. There was nobody to help her here. Actually, nobody stayed, except the monsters. This place had been abandoned seven years ago. They shut down all ties to the sleeping town: Gravity Falls. She'd been living off of waste this whole time, suffering from her traumas and these demons. She'd been so alone, for so long, she had experienced visions and hallucinations of people that weren't even there. It took her a year to notice.

Radiation had been a problem here. There was an outbreak of a particle that came from another dimension. It only made _them_ stronger. And she became violent and bloodlusted around those absorbent creatures. So, in some way, the radiation made _her_ strong too.

The fog made it impossible to track around the place. But Mabel knew Gravity Falls since she was a child. She knew what lurks behind every corner of this damned place.

She wiped off the crimson liquid from her lips, the taste of copper just made her stomach lurch. The air was getting harder to breathe, her chest was hurting. She hugged herself, her heart beat slowing for a moment.

"Just keep on going, Mabester..." she reminded herself, using one of the many nicknames she made to keep her sane. Or, that's what she thought she was doing. "...almost—agh—home."

 _Home_ was... not a house. Not an apartment, not a tent, or even a small newspaper bed on the street. It was more refined than that. It was an underground bunker, holding a cryogenic tank for the worst of the worst and a comfortable living space for herself and the people she'd see.

Mabel trekked towards a lone pine tree in the middle of a forest, slumping against it, and tugging on a rope that was tied to a branch up above. She felt the grass vibrate, and walked over to the chalk range she drew. Slowly, the ground uncovered itself around the pine tree, and steps were pushed forward to make a spiral staircase down to the bunker. The brunette walked down and leaned against the curved wall for support.

In no time, she was in the bunker, the place she ransacked for supplies before realizing this was where she'd spend the rest of her life in. The creator of this bunker really thought of everything. She'd have to thank her grand uncle, but by doing that, she'd have to get out of Gravity Falls. She couldn't do that after years of isolation. No, this was _much_ better. Mabel pressed a secret button on the walls and the ground reverted to where it goes, hiding her from everything.

She went over to the shelf and took another sack of brown meat, ripping the packet with her teeth and chugging it down. She was hungry, and if she knew anything, even brown meat tastes better while you were hungry. She starved herself once a week, just to get it to taste better than usual. Otherwise, she'd be eating the bland stuff for the rest of her life. Of course, it was counterproductive of staying in shape to battle monsters forever, but it was her choice and her life. This was how she liked to live it.

She plopped onto the couch, removing her coat and cradling her bruised side. She left it like that since there was nothing she could do against it. Except taking medicine, which was a bad idea since those had a side effect and left her sleepy for a week. There was no one but herself, so it was a week of starving she'd need to go through, and she did _not_ want to do that. Even if she did it once a week.

"Mabel, are you okay?"

Mabel glared at the person sitting beside her, and muttered, "Go _away_."

"It's not my fault I'm here." her brother's voice rang through her head, and his image placed a hand on her knee, massaging it. "You're the one who called me here. You don't want me to go away."

"You're not my brother." she replied coldly.

"No. I'm just a figure created in your head. This is how you thought I'd look like if I was here." he informed, "I'm not your brother. I'm what you want you think your brother is. And judging by your memories, it's not the same."

Mabel shut her eyes, turning her head away and groaning in pain. When she looked back, she saw him shorter, with his pine tree hat, orange shirt, navy-blue vest and gray shorts. Her eyes watered.

"Mabel, don't cry, I'm here."

"No, you're not." she sobbed, eyes and nose hurting.

Dipper pulled her into a hug. "I'm here... it's okay."

As the tears fell, Mabel desperately clung onto air and he vanished just like that.

* * *

"You _lied_..."

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"Look, Gideon, if we were there, I'd have stopped this car and told you to get off your ass!" she exclaimed furiously. "Now stop asking."

"Gee, Pacifica, _ten_ years." Gideon replied. "I've been good for ten years straight. No bad marks or anythin'. Even _Becka_ aknowledges it."

Pacifica didn't even look at him. "I don't know who Becka is. Is she you seventieth girl or something?"

"No. How could she know all my life if she's my 'seventieth' girl?" the white-haired man asked, pulling up his fingers before crossing his arms and leaning back against the seat. "If you must know, she's the person who looks over me when I got outta prison a decade ago."

"Oh, _those_ were the times." the blonde replied sarcastically. "We'd probably be kings and queens of Gravity Falls by now. But nooo, some radiation came in and the whole place is a ghost town." She narrowed her eyes and checked the fuel for a moment. "Then, eight years later, you come back in my life and I still remember hating you."

"But we don't remember _why_." Gideon responded.

Pacifica fell silent, glancing at the white-haired man who was two years younger than her, but sounded far older than her. He was wearing a black shirt that had a picture of a white tie, a sky-blue jacket and similar colored jeans. His hair was toned down, but the puffiness was still there, and his cheeks were as chubby since he couldn't get to remove them.

"What did you see in your dreams?" he asked.

"What did you see in _yours_?" she retorted, dodging the question.

"Probably the same as what you dreamed of." he slyly answered, also dodging the question. Both didn't trust each other very well, and they had this mutual friendship that sided to the untrustworthy side. "Okay, we can't do this till we tell each other the truth."

Pacifica started, taking a breath. "You first."

"In my dreams, I keep seeing this girl in this black and white background. And everytime she appears, she seems to be scared, tired and helpless. She seemed so young too. Like, twelve or thirteen. She keeps avoiding triangles." Gideon explained, as the blonde nodded. "Then, there's this other kid, who doesn't even try avoiding the triangles. And just, walks the place like he owns it."

"Did the girl wear some kind of sweater and the boy wear a hat?" Pacifica inquired.

"Yeah, how'd you..." Gideon trailed away, not even bothering to continue. It was a dumb question to ask. "Anyways, this _boy_ seemed to... I dunno... mutate into some demon thing and flew away. And this girl just keeps _bawling_..."

"It's always the crying." Pacifica replied. "That demon boy just flies away and she's finally alone and she starts tearing like she had a connection with him. I would've told her that he's a frickin' demon, he would've killed you."

"Yeah, I had that thought too."

"But everytime, I didn't feel that way. It's like logic was thrown out the window and I suddenly feel sympathy for the girl."

"Then there'd be people that walk past her, and the faces, I knew— _recognize_ ," he corrected, "...I recognized those faces." Gideon continued, "I remembered you. So, I went to your place to see if you had the same problem."

"Am I supposed to be flattered?" she remarked at the part where he 'recognized' her, and he shrugged. The Northwest sighed, "I don't have faces that I recognize. All I know is that there was a sign titled Gravity Falls."

"We find hints, connect things, and tackle them head-on. It's a pretty nice strategy we have." Gideon replied as he waved his hand at the road. "And now, we're blindly heading towards a ghost town."

"No. We're not heading towards it." Pacifica responded, flooring the other pedal. "We're here."

* * *

 **A/N: Just this thing I'm doin'. I've written some light stuff, time to delve into the darker side of things. Please help review, as it keeps me encouraged that people would go out of their way and contribute.**

 **I'm out, and have a nice day.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ordeal**

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

 _"Awkward sibling hug?"_

 _"Awkward sibling hug."_

 _"Pat. Pat."_

Mabel looked around the old house. It never was fixed. The Mystery Shack.

It was devastated, full of holes and cracks and brokened down planks of wood. The old 'enter' sign filled her with memories everytime she came back after some event. The front yard reminded her of those times playing with water balloons and doing golf cart stunts. Stepping into the house, with its squeaky floorboards, made it something nostalgic how everytime she ran around the house, she'd inform her great uncle something unimportant.

"Hehe..." she chuckled. "...stupid."

Memories would echo through her skull everytime she visited. And that was every two days. She made regular checks for no reason, other than to relive moments of the past. _Ten_ years ago.

 _"Syrup race! Syrup race!"_

The kitchen was in the corner of her eye, and she could imagine herself fantasizing about a human-sized hamster ball.

 _"You sneeze like a kitten!"_

 _"No, I don't!"_

She walked around the living room, remembering the decapitated wax figure of her great uncle.

 _"You're back!"_

 _"Yeah, and I had a lobster."_

The brunette stared out and found the same aquarium, except there was nothing inside it. There wasn't any remains of the lobster either. She sighed at the thought of wishing to have a summer romance as a kid. Now, she wished this place wouldn't haunt her as much as it did.

 _"We're thirteen."_

 _"Since when were we thirteen? Is this a leap year?"_

Mabel rushed to the echoes of the room, finding nothing but a dimly lit room that had all its stocks in dust and cobwebs. She saw the counter on the side of the room.

 _"Oh, Mabel, I don't feel so good. Bwaaaa!"_

 _"Me neither! Bwaaaa!"_

She stared at the door that led to the basement, where that old printer collected dust.

 _"Hah! I'm half a centimeter taller than you!"_

 _"Yeah, that's like the metric system. Who uses that?"_

Mabel glanced at the counter, and looked back up at the ceiling. It looked nearer than before. Time passed _quick_. She was taller now.

 _"We were the kings of Halloween."_

She could spot the old, forgotten candy in between the floorboards.

 _"Why am I wearing your clothes? And why am I wearing... your face?!"_

She saw that old room where that magic carpet was, and turned away.

 _"We're going to delve into the dark recesses of the worst place ever... our Grunkle's mind."_

Mabel stepped out of the Mystery Shack. Recalling the first time they met that triangle demon scared her. He died _years_ ago. He's gone. The demon's gone. Nobody remembers him. And Mabel is a _nobody_. The only way to beat him.

Mabel sighed at her usual routine. She got over it a long time ago. She was just here to remember the dumbest times of her life, only to have it tumbling down the drain. Her life was like a rollercoaster, it was just going up, then the next half was spent going down and using the most of the forces acting on you.

She headed down the usual road, unaffected by the fog covering her range of sight. Her gut told her to keep moving forward, and that's what she did. Hands tucked in her coat pockets, she leaned forward and made a slow dash to wherever her gut tells her to go. Until, her senses completely jeopardized the plan and showed her a little boy walking down the road. She stopped, watching him walk around, the sounds of his footsteps telling her it was real.

The boy found her and smiled. "Hello!"

Her hard eyes were pinned to the boy, deciding whether it was real or fake. Logic dictated it was fake, but her heart tells her it's real. She remembered how her trust was used and how she picked heart over brain. It ended up with everyone forgetting about Gravity Falls.

"Are you lost?" he asked, skipping towards her.

She took a step back, glaring at the kid like he was some sort of demon.

That's when Mabel decided it was best to ignore, and continued her journey down the road to the town. The boy followed her, since there was nothing else he had to do.

"Uh, I guess that's a no." he said. "But, I'm Stan! Nice to meet you, lady!"

Mabel felt a spike run through her head as he said that. She looked back, and the boy disappeared into one of those daily hallucinations she saw. She didn't even shrug, and started moving forwards, till she encountered a car being driven on one side of the lane. She eyed it warily, the cape of her coat flapping through the whiplash of the car.

The car decelerated in front of her. The window rolled down showing a man in his twenties, wearing glasses and a sweater. "Ma'am, are you lost?"

Mabel didn't respond. _They're just hallucinations. They're not real. They're created out of your loneliness because you think you're insane._

"It's raining." he stated.

Mabel looked up at the sky, and it was the same grayish fog she'd seen throughout the rest of her life. "It's no—"

She caught her tongue, ending it before she made another sound.

The car vanished from her mind.

 _"The journal said not to trust anyone."_

 _"Trust me. Why can't you trust me?"_

Mabel sadly looked around, trying to see if there was any car nearby. She regretted the decision as it wasted a few seconds of her slowly deteriorating life. She was either gonna die in the hands of monsters, or from radiation poisoning, or from starvation or insanity. There were _lots_ of ways to die. Even suicide was an option.

The thought had occured to her once. And that was how that rope tied to the branch of the pine tree came to be.

Mabel continued to walk to the town, and once she got there, she could spot the hiding places of each enemy she'd encountered. She realized back then that she was a living ghost. Nobody's ever here. She was the only human living in Gravity Falls. And yet, she'd proven from time to time, again and again, that she was the hunter, and these oddballs were her prey.

You engage her in any type of situation, she'll know you better than you know yourself. She'll kill you without a second thought and use any weakness you had that she could spot. She wasn't afraid of playing dirty. She had no ' _chivalry_ '. No code of honor. Even if you were dead, she'd still be kicking sand into your face, so that when you come back as a zombie, you're blind, deaf and you can't smell.

The brunette checked on the abandoned shops on the street, patrolling it like it was her duty. Years had improved her, and she had everything in the town scared of her. If they decided to attack her, they were either brainless, new or really arrogant. Even if she was 'defenseless', it would be tough to beat her. Sure, they could wound and injure her, but it wouldn't be _dead_. Close, and there was a likely probability that one day, she'd kick the bucket when they had a good plan.

She stopped by her usual spot in a cafe, sitting under the shade of an umbrella. It was her hobby to pass the time. Just sitting there in peace and silence, waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting.

"Trust no one..." she repeated her brother's life rule.

* * *

Pacifica opened her phone and checked to see if there was any signal. Apparently not, since all the phone towers in this old place were either broken down or just not working. Because there's no electricity. Gideon, on the other hand, was checking the things he packed for the whole adventure. He had a whole camping backpack, while Pacifica only had a sling bag of stuff.

With her sports shoes, it was easier for her to move around than Gideon, who was just wearing the norm. It'd been ten years, things have changed, lots of stuff happened. There were even things that Pacifica didn't want to talk about. Mostly because it was her personal issues, and a secret she had to keep in order _keep_ things in _order_.

Pacifica slammed her side of the door, just as Gideon did. The Northwest sighed the second she saw the town, which was covered in mist. "Great... _fog_." she remarked sarcastically. "You wanna go first or..."

"I got this. I was _prepared_..." Gideon informed, reaching from his bag of mysterious things. He pulled out his flashlight and turned it on so they could see through the fog. " _Pre_ -pared."

"Shut up, boy scout."

"Well, screw you too."

"I could _leave_ you here." Pacifica warned, pulling out the keys to her car. "I own this baby, after all." she said, dangling the metal keys.

"Uhhh..." Gideon groaned, pointing his flashlight in directions.

The Northwest lowered her eyelids in boredom. She pocketed the keys before noticing something wrong about one of the things on the road. There was a motorcycle parked just on the fence on one of the sidewalks.

"Hey, Gideon, look!" Pacifica pointed at the black bike.

"It's probably been there for ages." he replied.

"Really? Then why isn't there a speck of dust? Seems like someone recently got into Gravity Falls before _us_." Pacifica walked over to the motorbike and investigated the details. There were skulls and roses, which were... kind of popular these days. "Yup, this wasn't here for 'ages'. It's new."

"I thought I was gonna be the detective!" Gideon cried out.

"We're twenty, Gideon. There's no competition necessary." Pacifica responded calmly. She looked around, "If we're gonna start somewhere, remember where we parked the car."

"Oh sure, like it'd be easy to find out what we're looking for." Gideon rolled his eyes.

"I thought you had it all figured out." she pointed out. "I mean, you packed bags... prepared _things_. Things that I don't even know."

"I had _nothing_ figured out. All I knew, was that you were in the dream, and you said we should go to Gravity Falls." he stated. "So, you're telling me, you were relyin' on me?"

"What's wrong with giving someone full trust?" Pacifica inquired, trying to sound innocent. When she _knew_ , how bad it would be to give someone their full trust. "Also, we just stepped into a ghost town without any planning." she added calmly.

"Yeah, what'd you expect the first time we came here?" he demanded.

"I expected you leading us to somewhere familiar!" she answered.

"I expected all this to get over with the second we set foot in this place." Gideon admitted. "There'd be this ghost that would pop outta nowhere, try to kill us, and we save the day by killin' the beast and we revert the whole town back to how it's supposed to be. It'll finish with me complainin' on why I brought a bag. Then I'd be king of Gravity Falls."

Pacifica crossed her arms. "You're _really_ into good endings."

"And you're really into relying on people to do your dirty work!" Gideon retorted.

"I don't rely on people! Well... not anymore." Pacifica's hands turned into fists. "And if this was a ghost hunt, I don't think you'd know proper ghost hunting."

"Oh yeah? Like _you_ do?" Gideon scoffed.

"I know how to hunt a ghost. I remember doing it in Gravity Falls, with this random guy..." she informed. "...I don't remember who he was, but it's been ten years. All I know about my time ghost hunting was that it was in my parents' mansion and I beat it once, or twice."

The Gleeful stared at her skeptically, looking her casual clothing up and down. "You _better_ know how to hunt ghosts." He turned and started walking into the town, with Pacifica following him shortly. "I'm pretty sure we're gonna be meeting one _real_ soon."

* * *

 **A/N: Hi, and this is chapter two. Thanks for following and favoriting early on in the story. And please review, because feedback is always appreciated.**

 **I'm out, and have a nice day!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ordeal**

 **Chapter 3**

* * *

The journal had a scratched, paling red, cover, and its golden hinges were still golden. The six-fingered symbol was getting seared off, but it was still there. Some of the pages of the book were folded to make it more important than others, but otherwise it was useless to Mabel because she read all three books during the past ten years.

She stole one from her great uncle Ford, found two in the Mystery Shack, and kept three as a memorial to a fallen one.

Whenever she pictured the family tree, she wondered what her parents are doing, now that they had no children to take care of. Her twin was gone and she was gone too, and she didn't know if she had another sibling, because she'd lived here for about seven years. Her parents could've had another son to keep the Pines name going and didn't even bother with her.

It was okay, she's twenty-two now. She began to make this ghost town her home when she was fifteen, and the decision still stands. She was gonna spend the rest of her life here. Her bond was getting stronger, and if she ever left Gravity Falls, it would get even worse than last time. The radiation had mutated her internally.

That was her hypothesis. But other than that, she was 'potentially' insane. It's not like getting hallucinations made you crazy.

Mabel stared out from the coffee shop, checking any movement from anywhere. The dead plants were moving from the wind, but that wasn't her main focus. It was anything that wasn't in place. Anything that could sneak up on her and take the element of surprise.

* * *

 _Mabel had left Gravity Falls three years ago, and she returned alone. As a fifteen year-old girl, she packed whatever she needed and journeyed her way to Gravity Falls. Nobody interfered with her. They were already worried about her nightmares, and had no clue what was happening. But once she left, it seemed that peace was restored._

 _Mabel would get her answer. They knew she would._

 _And she did. But never returned._

 _The town looked the same, except it was silent and there was nobody around. Mabel walked around, feeling at peace already, and wanted to find out what was going on. Her nightmares were a work of someone. She knew Bill could be a suspect, but he died. And so did Dipper._

 _By this time, she'd accepted his death and moved forward. A stark contrast to the future she was destined to meet._

 _Mabel was exploring Gravity Falls as a ghost town, which was worse than before. The silence could kill her and her being the only one there just made her feel even more insecure. If she were to say, this was the definition of peace and quiet. She didn't want that anymore. She pulled out the first journal she stole from her Grunkle Ford, and the third journal she'd kept as a memory to Dipper._

 _Pity, nobody remembered Dipper._

 _Mabel was even entitled to being a single child. Only_ she _knew she had a twin. She kept telling them, only to have them say she was just crazy and it was just a nightmare. (They think the twin thing was connected with her night terrors.) Mabel knew her twin and what happened. She couldn't forget. It was forever etched into her memory._

 _Carefully, she flipped the journals to find something she was interested in. Gravity Falls was a supernatural hotspot, and with her being the only human, their target would be her. It was only logical._

 _"Uh... let's see..." she brushed her hand through her hair, tired and sleepy eyes just glazing over the pages. "Boring. Boring. Boring. These are things Dipper would only..." she sighed, pausing to take a breath. "Dipper..."_

 _Mabel stopped walking and stood to recover her bearings._

 _Suddenly, something tackled her from behind, snarling greedily. Mabel made a screech, spinning around before she fell, and came face-to-face with a five-foot wolf._

 _"Uh... good boy?" she tried._

 _It barked in her face, teeth gnashing as saliva dripped onto her face. She repulsed in disgust, only to have the wolf strike her down with its strength. It left a searing pain on her collarbone, and she knew she had to take action. This creature was hostile, and she needed to do something to scare it off._

 _"Bad dog! Bad!" Mabel shouted, tussling with the wolf._

 _It yipped, pressing its ears against its head, cowering a bit in her direction, before scampering off._

 _Mabel watched in amazement, chuckling a bit. "Huh, I did it." she said, rubbing her bruise._

 _"You weren't the one to scare her off."_

 _Mabel quickly turned to the voice, standing up and taking a step back. She found a boy that looked her age and was wearing a blue coat and gray pants. He had a white shirt, and similar hair color to the brunette._

 _"Who..." Mabel stammered, "...who are you?" she asked._

 _"What? You don't remember me, sis?" Dipper replied, smiling cheekily._

 _Her eyes widened. "No..." she mumbled, heart sinking._

 _"Do I have to spell it out for you?"_

 _"No, no, no, NO!" Mabel shouted, water rushing out of her eyes. "I saw my brother_ die _! You—You aren't..."_

 _Dipper brought her into a hug, and she could feel him against her skin. Mabel hugged back, overjoyed that the one person she cared most was back. Every aspect of pain was crushed under his embrace, and she couldn't help herself from just laughing and crying._

* * *

"You remember where we parked the car?" Pacifica asked, checking to see if Gideon really had her back.

"It's somewhere over there." he answered vaguely, waving his flashlight behind them.

"Yeah..." She narrowed her eyes at him. "It is."

"Where do you think we should start first?" Gideon inquired, glancing at the stores and shops that were around. The fog seemed to unravel itself wherever they went. "There's a lot of leads we could follow. Like, that place over there." He pointed at a random tool shop. "Uh, I have no clue what to follow _there_. But it's a place."

"I thought you had a _lead_." Pacifica answered, feeling a bit scared of how any of this was going to play out. It didn't seem like they were gonna go back home soon with all the junk around. It could take _years_ to find out what was going on here.

"When did I say I had a lead?" he retorted, raising a brow.

"Good point." the blonde replied.

Walking forward, they checked the diners and stores from afar, feeling a sense of familiarity with it. They seemed like something significant in their childhood, but they were just shops, how could they affect them in such a way? It felt like going to a seldomly-visited house and exploring the place for the first time, except you've seen every inch of it years ago and it hadn't even changed.

"So, I was wonderin'..." Gideon began out of the blue.

"What?"

"...uh," he scratched his head. "Are you still a..."

Pacifica snorted, "Yes."

"Okay, erm..."

"Is that it? That's _all_ you wanted to know?" she asked in response.

"I was just _curious_." Gideon replied innocently, putting his hands up in retreat. "Plus, I thought you'd say no."

"I haven't found anybody worthy enough." she explained.

"Figures." he added. Pacifica suddenly stopped walking, and put out an arm in front of Gideon so he would stop as well. "What?"

Pacifica held a finger to her mouth, a shushing signal. Gideon complied reluctantly, not making the slightest noise but his breathing. He took a look at Pacifica, who looked around frantically. Then, there was the small footsteps. And then, a crunch of the ground, sounding like something jumped and scraped the gravel road.

"DUCK!" she cried, pulling Gideon down with her.

Something had leaped over their head and landed in front of them. It seemed to be an old, six-foot wolf, that was apparently unfriendly as it snarled at them with saliva dripping from its mouth. Gideon felt the need to step away from digust, while Pacifica took a moment to analyze the wolf's intentions. The two rose from their squatting position, slowly, to show peace to the animal.

"It wants to kill us..." the blonde informed quietly.

"Gee... Ya think the angry look on its face gave it away?" Gideon retorted soundlessly.

"Quit being a smartass and slowly walk away." Pacifica answered, putting her hand out at the wolf.

"What are you doing?!" he whispered.

"So that when it pounces, I at least have an arm in range to hit it." Pacifica murmured.

"Animal cruelty much?"

"Screw you."

The wolf took slow steps forward, as they backed away, seeming to gain no progress at all. It stopped growling, and readied its hind legs to give itself a boost. Pacifica seemed to recognize this, and waved her hand around, making a target for it. As much as she hated Gideon, she couldn't let the wolf kill her only acquaintance in this place. Plus, she was more experienced and could get away with this, because of her secret.

Gideon spotted her hand waving around for the wolf. He didn't want her to get the wolf's attention and let it attack her. So, he did the only thing he could, he grabbed her by the wrist and stopped her from moving it.

At the sudden touch, she fumed. "GIDEON—"

The wolf jumped at them, ready to bite out of her skull.

Pacifica pushed Gideon out of the way and managed to dodge the wolf, which skidded on the ground and began a mad dash for Pacifica. She threw her fist at it and knocked it aside, gaining a pained squeak from it. It growled and tried to bite at her, but she stepped back, avoiding its gnashing teeth, and kicked it by the snout. Pacifica wanted to scare it off, and she suceeded; the wolf whimpered, rubbing at its nose, before running away.

Pacifica dusted herself and got up, taking a breath of relief that she was still alive. And that her partner wasn't hurt. Gideon approached her, to see if she was okay, but she unexpectedly snatched his wrist and yanked him at her.

"What were you _thinking_?!" she screamed, fire raging behind her eyes.

"Uh, I-was..." Gideon trembled under her anger, and his arm was hurting from her grip. He regained his confidence and shouted back with the same intensity. "I didn't want you getting its attention, you stupid idiot! You would've gotten us _killed_!"

"I was trying to get its attention to _protect_ you." she informed harshly, letting go of his wrist. "You stepping in could've made you its target! You were lucky it went for me."

Gideon rubbed his reddened wrist, and glared at her. He wondered why she would protect him out of all people. " _Why_?"

"What do you mean ' _why_ '?" she scoffed. "You look like you couldn't hurt a fly, much less break a _stick_." Pacifica walked away, taking the flashlight. "I should lead."

"Why would you _protect_ me?" Gideon inquired.

"You tried to do the same." Pacifica answered.

Gideon was at a loss for words. Yeah, he tried to stop Pacifica from getting herself killed, but it was an instinctive move. But she put herself on the line purposely, risking her own life so that Gideon didn't have to. The white-haired man saw her in a new light. She wasn't that rich, snotty brat ten years ago. She really had changed. But what about him? Did he change at all?

And the way she seemed to be in control, it was like she had done this thing before. She was calm throughout the situation, not nervous or scared. The way she was able to move out of the way before the wolf meant she had experience and her agility was far superior to what he had thought. And how she attacked was spot on. It was like Pacifica was _trained_ to do something like this.

"You coming?" Pacifica asked peacefully, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah..." he answered, taking small steps. He stared at her suspiciously. _How do you do it?_

* * *

 **A/N: Hooray! Thanks for favoriting and following! And a review! Yay!**

 **I'm out, and have a nice day!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ordeal**

 **Chapter 4**

* * *

Trust no one.

Mabel could vouch for that.

In Gravity Falls, you couldn't trust _anyone_. You may love or hate people, it's optional. But trust should always be something to be careful of. You couldn't trust anyone within the town because of its supernatural happenings. There was Bill Cipher, the manipulative bastard of a dream-demon. And then there were your your friends, who will be lulled into siding with themselves rather than with you.

Mostly because _you_ would turn out to be a skeptical person with trust issues.

Shapeshifters could break a person and tear them apart from society out of paranoia. Ghosts would question a person's mortality and how the cycle of life and death works. Zombies may haunt a person to how powerless they were against something they can't physically fight. Gnomes give a person a sense of insecurity about their garden. Myths and legends make people wonder about how little they know about the world, and their need to know _more_.

These things break people. They turn humans into something they weren't. Their view on life darkens, their personality shifts, and before you know it, you were doing the same.

Sadly, it applied to Mabel.

She had focused less on what these monsters meant, and only seven years ago had she discovered how everybody in this world is in it for themselves. They're selfish, and they have motives and ideals in life. These motives might look pure on the outside, but they can turn into _horrible_ things. Humans _have_ rules, but they also make exceptions. And later on, they make exceptions more often than before, and then they break the rules entirely out of familiarity.

Mabel didn't think she could trust anyone. Her hallucinations had gotten more potent everyday, and whatever could be reality may just be in her head. She couldn't trust anyone that stumbles across her out of nowhere. She'd play it safe, and keep an eye on that person.

* * *

 _"What are you doing here? This isn't a place for... you know... summer vacations." Dipper informed._

 _"I just wanted to find out what's with all the buzz in my nightmares." Mabel answered, looking sheepish. Her inner child came out, which hadn't happened for three years. "All of it leads me back_ here _..." she referred to the town. "...where you_ died _."_

 _"I didn't die, Mabel."_

 _That answer got her angry. She'd spent months grieving over him, and suddenly, he was alive? She just didn't get it. And if he'd been alive all this time, couldn't he had at least said so?_

 _"Then why've you been gone for three years? And why are you so..._ calm _about this?" Mabel questioned, eyeing him suspiciously._

 _"It's a long story." Dipper stated. "Short story, I sacrificed only some of me. Now, I have to protect the world from any monsters that's in Gravity Falls. I contain them here, restrict them from going out. That's why I stayed."_

 _"And you didn't think of sending me a letter, or at least some way of telling me this?" Mabel asked, waving her hand to the ghost town._

 _"There is no way, Mabel." Dipper looked distant, holding her hand. "The world cut its link to Gravity Falls. Now this place is just another one of those cursed cities that no one ever goes to."_

 _Mabel yanked her hand away from him, feeling weirded out. Sure, she could understand that it's been so long since he saw her. But, the feeling of another man that she hadn't seen in years, just touching her for a prolonged period of time, just gave her this strange feeling in her gut._

 _"What about last year? Gravity Falls only became a ghost town last year." she stated, making a point. "What happened to those other two years?"_

 _"I spent my time in hell."_

 _Mabel shuddered, "H-...Hell?" she stuttered, surprised that he was being blunt about it. "You mean, you were..."_

 _"I'm the first living soul to ever cross hell and return." Dipper's eyes showed a dangerous territory, like he was about to explode from the experience. Those dark bags under his eyes were a testimony of his stress and what he'd gone through. "I had to sacrifice a_ lot _."_

 _"I-I'm sorry, Dipper." She hugged him again, this time to comfort him rather than her. Mabel felt guilty for having to question him and his trust, and had unwillingly pried open the darkest corners of his mind. She should've trusted him, he was her brother, after all. "I didn't know..."_

 _"Technically, you knew..." he replied._

 _"What?"_

 _"...I mean, I was in hell. I was practically dead." he smiled, "But I'm_ back _. Quite the record, ain't it?"_

 _"Heh, this'll go into the history books, fo' sure!" Mabel remarked, bopping his nose. It seemed like something she'd do with him around. Yes, she was all grown up, but three years of no interaction, and her muscle memory of bopping Dipper's nose for twelve years, made that twin bond strengthening every second with familiarity._

 _"For once, I hope it doesn't." he stated, cheekily snickering. It'd been a long time since he had been truly happy._

 _Suddenly, his smile faded, and his expression became serious. Dipper grabbed Mabel by the arm and pulled her somewhere. Mabel, already knowing her brother well enough, started picking up her own speed and began following him without the need of Dipper physically pulling her._

 _"What happened?" she asked between shaky breaths, glancing back. "What's..." her pupils shrunk, noticing a large amount of small, green people, frolicking where they were just at._

 _"Goblin army_ _." Dipper spat, checking back on the speed of the army of goblins. "They were about to ambush us."_

 _"Well, we showed them, righ..." Mabel slowed, her eyes drooping and her neck stinging. She lost control of her limbs, and knew what was gonna happen, then muttered a curse under her breath. Her foot lost balance and she tripped herself over, falling face-first into the ground._

 _"MABEL!" Dipper cried. He turned back to get his sister up, but the goblins were coming in quick. He had a split decision to either get Mabel out of there and risk getting in the goblins' way, or flee completely and never see his twin again._

 _If he stops the goblins right now, there would be a country full of monsters that would start a feud with him. The deal he made with them would be broken and they'd wage war on him. And Dipper knew he couldn't win. Not while he's alone. The goblins had access to inter-dimensional weapons and incantations from hell, the stuff he'd dreaded for months. He had nothing but his wit and willpower._

 _He could stay on their good side by not bothering with Mabel. Or he could save Mabel and start a monster war in Gravity Falls._

 _He picked to start a war with the goblins._

* * *

Pacifica had been leading the way for a few hours, and they hadn't even circled the town once. She had made sure they were close to her car, since her ticket out of here was a valued thing, and went into shops and checked if they had any significance to their nightmares.

Gideon wasn't having the time of his life. He was being second to Pacifica and was following her _everywhere_. He wasn't keen on walking around anymore after that wolf incident, because he was scared it would return in packs and come after them.

They had noticed how every store or shop was either ransacked or burned down, which was weird. The ashes weren't blown away by the wind yet, so it showed that it happened sometime ago, and there wasn't as much dust on the scratches in the places where it was ransacked. Gideon suspected these wolves had a pyrokinetic king who'd set fire to a few places that were deemed worthy.

Pacifica thought it led back to the owner of that black motorcycle with the painted skulls and roses on it.

"I think we should leave this place..." Gideon informed, watching Pacifica move things around in the damaged store. "We'll never find out what's causing these dreams. The best we could do is bump our heads, gain amnesia, and forget about all this."

She kept picking out sticks and string.

"What are you doing?" he asked, interested with how precise she picked things out of the other stuff.

"Something." she sighed and tossed away all the things she got. "C'mon, let's go. You were right. This town doesn't really have anything."

As the two were about to head out, they found a pack of green things dragging something on the pavement. Pacifica backed away from the exit door in weariness, hiding in the shadows, while Gideon looked out the window to see what was going on, without getting caught, of course. He saw a grown adult being wrapped in ropes and tugged by small, devilish creatures.

"Oh god, what are those?" Pacifica inquired, eyes twitching.

"To my extent of knowledge, they _are_... goblins." Gideon answered with an uncertain ring to his voice. "Well, I think they are. But I don't know if it's true."

"This is great. Goblins in Gravity Falls. The place I saw in my nightmares." Pacifica replied without emotion. "I think the dreams were being prophetic instead. And they were telling me _never_ to come here in the first place."

"What could goblins do to harm us? They're just small and ugly." Gideon stated, trying to bring in some false courage. "You beat a wolf. Together, we could rule them out." he added, increasing their confidence.

"Firstly, I didn't beat a wolf. I scared it away." she explained, raising a finger. "There's a difference."

Gideon kept silent, before asking, "You think there's a chance we could scare the goblins away?"

"Maybe. Wait..." Pacifica tugged on her sling bag, zipping open the pocket and pulling out a laser pointer. "...you think this could work?" she questioned meekly.

"Holy shit..." Gideon remarked, "Okay, we _could_ get through this... by not getting their attention."

"Meh, worth a shot." The Northwest slipped the laser pointer back in her bag. "So, are we gonna help the poor person?"

"Maybe not." Gideon checked, calculating that the person was taller than them and may be a great asset. "Or maybe yes." But he got kidnapped by goblins, so... "Or, maybe nah again."

"Do we place it in a vote?" she said.

"There's only you and me." he replied.

She grunted in response.

Gideon sighed. This was a person, a guy who lived a life that could be similar to theirs. He was either gonna live or die in the next minute. If they try to rescue him, they might get killed by the goblins. But if they leave him to 'wither away', then he and Pacifica would get a greater chance at surviving. But by doing that, he would be technically killing a person and feeling guilty for the rest of his life that he didn't do a thing.

Pacifica didn't mind, she just wanted Gideon's opinion. She had gone through something like this before, and was only checking if Gideon would be trustworthy to look out for their backs. If he said they should save him, he had a good heart. If he said they should leave him, then he was not someone she'd rely on sooner or later.

Gideon struggled to reach an answer, and felt that all people should be treated equal.

"Save him." he replied, and tried to cover up with, "That way, he'd owe us."

"Not the reason I was expecting." Pacifica replied with a balancing tone. "But sure, we could do that."

Both Gideon and Pacifica burst through the store doors and dashed through the streets to kick away the goblins. They were the size of children, but their appearance was so disproportionate in human terms that they looked horrible. Long nose, pointy ears, apple-green skin, wearing brown army rags that held up with straps. They looked ready to fight, which made Gideon stumble as he got to them.

Pacifica kicked one in the stomach that flew and crashed into the trash bins that were thirty feet away. It was like kicking a football. Gideon tried mustering up his strength, but he didn't want to hurt them because he thought of animal cruelty amd jail time. So, he got swarmed by three of them tackling him to the ground. The blonde was doing well on her own, but she sighed as she ripped the goblins' grip from Gideon.

Gideon was curling up on the floor, hiding his face with his hands, as Pacifica scared them off with her free flying trials. The adult that was being tied with ropes just stared in confusion at what was going on. He never made a sound because there was tape stuck to his mouth.

The Northwest dusted her hands, "That went well."

Pacifica had to lightly kick Gideon in the leg.

"Hey. They're gone." she informed.

"They're... They're gone?" Gideon repeated, peeking out of his hands. He slowly stood up, coughing in a manly way. "I knew I could rely on you." he admitted, not shy of giving his gratitude to a woman.

Pacifica rolled her eyes, "Likewise." Deep down, she was glad Gideon picked saving someone instead of leaving them for death. It meant he had good morals, and she could trust him with some serious task. So, she was saying the truth.

Gideon walked over to the captured person, and quickly ripped the sticky tape from his mouth. The man let out a shriek, as Gideon was mesmerised by the experience of peeling tape off in a scurry. "I've _always_ wanted to do that. I heard stories, but I've never done it." he stated, referencing his time in jail.

"You could've warned me next time!" the man shouted, seething from his stinging mouth. "Where'd you guys come from anyway?!"

"Oh, we're the new arrivals. Say, you've been here longer than us, can you point us to the bathroom?" Pacifica asked with so much fake emotion put into it, while crossing her arms.

"Why are you here and how'd you get into a scuffle with the goblins?" Gideon interrogated.

"I don't know! I just wanted to go here and got kidnapped by goblins." the man lied.

"Wait, I've seen you before." Gideon remarked, changing the subject. "Did you grow up here? In Gravity Falls?"

"Yes!" the adult's glee turned into a frown. "Why? Have we met?"

"I'm..." Gideon trailed off into a whisper. He then asked a quetion instead of introducing himself. "What's _your_ name?"

"Uh, Robbie." he answered, before giving out questions. "Who're you guys? What're _your_ names?"

"I'm Gideon."

Robbie's eyes widened.

"I'm Pacifica."

His jaw dropped.

"Wait, you're... you're the two most popular kids back in the day!" Robbie tilted his head back. "Man, was I such an emo freak." he remarked. "Can you guys untie me now?"

"Who's Robbie?" Pacifica asked Gideon in a whisper that Robbie couldn't hear.

"You know that guy who was raised by funeral directors?" Gideon whispered back.

"Ohhh... so, he's _that_ guy." Pacifica nodded, her voice even quieter than his.

"Yeah, I know right. Didn't recognize him at first." Gideon replied in a husher volume than hers.

Pacifica tilted her head towards Robbie, speaking up and focusing on him. "So, you're the zombie guy everyone kept joking about in school."

"People still _remember_ that?" Robbie asked bewilderedly.

"That's the only thing they remember you for." Gideon remarked.

"Do you have a place I could crash for a bit? I wanna sleep." Robbie replied. "Plus, can you guys untie me?"

* * *

 **A/N: What chapter is this? I've lost count already. Wow.**

 **I'm off, and have a nice day!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ordeal**

 **Chapter 5**

* * *

 _Dipper stared out at the night sky, contemplating at his decision. Tomorrow, he was gonna get some news from the goblins that the goblin king decided to put a bounty on his head for breaking their trust. And then he'd need to meet up with them to discuss about the bounty and take it off. That would need serious persuasion, and since they weren't scared of him anymore, it would take longer. Maybe a few hundred wounded or dead and sent to the king would petrify him enough._

There's not enough time. _Dipper thought._ Even if I start now, they wouldn't be intimidated by ten. That would make them think I wasn't strong enough to destroy entire towns. Then they'd classify me as something easy to kill. And I _am_.

 _He was standing in the balcony of the housing apartment he stayed in, while Mabel was on the couch, sleeping. He had picked out a dart on the back of her neck, and made an antitoxin to fight off whatever poison the goblins made. He noticed she was the only one who came back to Gravity Falls, and since it was probably autumn, she skipped school to come here._

 _It didn't take a detective to solve this. She ran away._

 _To his calculations, she was only fifteen. And it was the middle of a school period, and in the middle of the week! She had to have run away, or he might've missed a new holiday that had been made in the past two years that might go on for a week._

 _At this realization, he was disappointed in her. He thought she could go on without him, but alas, she just had to come back here. In his weakest and most vulnerable point in his life. He was a monster hunter, now he's the protector of the world. If they knew what was in here, the world would go into chaos. Nobody would be safe. Dipper was the only one holding down the portal to the other dimension and the person in charge of making sure these creatures don't get out of Gravity Falls._

 _He was doing a good job at it, going the Bill Cipher route and making deals. Till recently, he'd gone to crap. The radiation from the other dimension had seeped in and was starting to strengthen him. But that applied to the monsters as well. Their power acclerated rapidly, as he grew steadily, left behind._

 _Dipper's dark eyes looked down at the town, every monster lurking in all possible corners. Every hour that passes, they're getting stronger. He had to go down that road... He needed to control them..._

 _"Ugh..." Mabel woke, groaning. She stretched and yawned, scratching herself, before realizing something._ _She didn't have any nightmares._ _"This is the first time in three years..." she remarked happily._

 _"Hmm?" Dipper turned around and walked to the living room. "What?"_

 _Mabel stared up at him in excitedly. "I had a great sleep."_

 _"And?"_

 _"I never got nightmares."_

 _Dipper shrugged, having no idea what was going on with her._

 _Mabel sat up. "Three years ago, sometime after you... 'went away'..." She restricted herself from using the word 'death'. "...I kept getting these dreams. And they're pretty horrific. But now, they're gone. For the first time in two_ years _, they're gone! I never felt so great!"_

 _Mabel prepared herself to stand._

 _"Also, is this your house? It's ni—" she took a step forward, boosting herself off the couch, but a sudden pain shot up her leg, and she fell back onto the sofa. "—OW!" Mabel yelped, leaning back against the couch and rubbing her foot. "Leg cramp._ Definitely _a leg cramp."_

 _Dipper stared at the ground to think. He wanted to protect his sister, but her being here would also mean she'd get hurt. And Dipper had done many things he regretted doing. Things he couldn't tell Mabel. He couldn't help her here, not with all the things that were going on, and adding another problem to the list. He debated this topic a few more times in his head, before reaching a close._

 _"You should go back." he whispered._

 _Mabel stared at him in surprise. "What?"_

 _"It's not safe here." he explained. Dipper crouched down and inspected her foot, brushing his fingers through it lightly. "And you have a twisted ankle, not a leg cramp."_

 _"My bro." She ruffled her hair. "I'm not going back." she stated nonchalantly._

 _"That isn't a decision for you to make." Dipper replied, placing his hands on her foot. "You should go."_

 _"Look who's talkin'. Remember who's the older one here?" Mabel retorted, crossing her arms and scowling. "I'm five minutes older than you!"_

 _"You are." Dipper stated, "But, you can't stay here. And if I tell you to leave... you're leaving."_ _He snapped her foot back with some kind of treatment that he'd learned in hell, which made her cringe and seethe. But the agony subsided, which she was thankful for._

 _"Aghh... damn... You could've warned me!" Mabel exclaimed, in which Dipper responded with a small snicker. "But thanks..." she rubbed her foot. "...that still hurt like_ shit _."_

 _Dipper smiled, "You know, hearing you curse, makes me feel... old. Maybe because you've never said a 'bad word' three years ago. And now that we reunited, things have changed." The young man rose up, "Still, it sounds... cute, and... petty."_

 _Mabel sighed, "I don't normally curse."_

 _"Really? That's hard to believe." Dipper replied, his hand closed near his chin, and his arm supporting it by the elbow. "I curse all the time."_

 _"Because of hell?" she guessed._

 _"It's influential." he remarked._

 _The brunette chuckled, "It would be weird if you never cursed after going through hell."_

 _Dipper inwardly laughed at the thought that he'd actually cursed demons and enemies in the battlefield. The curve in his lips faded as he remembered he should get Mabel back home. He didn't want her seeing whatever was going to happen to him tomorrow, because it would be a massacre for them and him._

 _"You should leave."_

 _"Why?" Mabel shot back._

 _"Things here... are too dangerous." Dipper informed. "You could get hurt. And from what I've seen just now, your pain tolerance isn't that high. You'll die out here. You're better out there, in the real world."_

 _"And leave you here?" Mabel guessed, as she had no idea why Dipper never could get out of Gravity Falls. "If I'm going back, you're coming with me."_

 _"No. I have to stay." Dipper responded, "But_ you _. You shouldn't even be here."_

 _"A couple of hours after seeing your twin sister in_ three _years, and you already kick her out." Mabel lamented. "We're starting to be like_ them _..." She was talking about the Stans. "We'd have a falling out, then we lose each other, anf after seeing each other again, we'll never see eye-to-eye."_

 _"Mabel, this isn't about that." Dipper tried to be as soft as possible, but that made his eyes water from the thought that he'd lose his sister. Or his sister would lose_ him _. He had taken so many risks before because he never had something to lose, but now... if he died, Mabel would never forgive him._

 _Mabel waited for his explanation, but it never came. "Then what is it about?"_

 _"It... It's to protect you."_

 _"You protect me by pushing me away in your life? What is_ wrong _with you?"_

 _"Mabel..." his eyes looked shiny. "...you're the only person in the whole multiverse that I trust." Dipper pleaded, "Please, I don't want you to get hurt." he sobbed._

 _Mabel looked into his eyes and saw worry etched into it._

 _"I don't want to leave you. But..." he sniffed, "...I also don't want to see you_ die _. This place, Gravity Falls, isn't what you think it is. It's a_ warzone _. People die here, and every time that happens, a part of me... my soul..._ dies _too. These things have_ lives _. They grew up and turn out into these monsters. And by killing them, I'm also erasing their entire life's work. I've made my life revolve around this. And I know, the same would happen to me one day."_

 _Mabel couldn't move. She didn't know what to do. She always idolized her brother as this brave hero who was also a normal kid. He never broke, he was always an iron wall and his determination wouldn't drop. Now, he was still the same kid, but he was broken. He couldn't see what was right or wrong. He had killed, seen the life behind people's eyes fade away, and walked the depths of hell and back to this reality._

 _He had seen things she couldn't even comprehend. She was scared of what he'd gone through. And he's explaining only part of his ideology to her._

 _"I don't want you to die here. I want you to live your life to the fullest and... die from a normal cause." Dipper explained._

 _"And I don't want you to die alone." She went up and hugged him. "I'm staying."_

 _"Please don't." he teared up, embracing her._

 _"I'm sorry. But this is my choice." her sad frown turned into a warm smile. "Besides, this way, I'm not leaving you."_

* * *

"So... we're just gonna sleep in your car?"

"I'm not sleeping anywhere in a ghost town that's been inhabited by goblins and wolves." Pacifica remarked, leaning her head against the window.

"Why? Because you're scared?" Gideon teased.

"You can't even fight a goblin properly." Pacifica retorted. "If there's anyone that's scared, it should be you."

Robbie spoke up, "I think I would vote that I'd be scared the most, because I just got kidnapped by goblins, so..."

The two younger adults shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, maybe so." Gideon remarked.

THUUMP!

Everyone in the car froze, not daring to move an inch. It took a minute for them to regain their senses, and they all shook it off as an animal jumping on the hood of Pacifica's car. The Northwest was the first to break the silence that was made from the sound.

"It... It could be just a bird..." Pacifica said, calming the other two down.

CREEEAK! The door was torn open and Gideon was pulled out harshly, rolling into the ground and dirtying his clothes from the road. Robbie meeped in fear, as Pacifica got a heart-attack that her car had been damaged. Oh, and Gideon was picked out. But this _thing_ ripped out her car door easily, like it was just tearing paper off a book. With that strength, it had to be something imposing.

The creature slid onto the hood of the car and punched through the glass, shatterig it in one go, and grabbing Pacifica by the collar. It threw the Northwest out of the car, letting her hit the ground in a scrappy way. Pacifica immediately got back up, panting from the adrenaline that was pumping through her veins. The feeling of getting thrown out of her own car angered her, and her body excited its defensive maneuvers and made her prepared.

The thing was standing on its two feet on the hood, glaring down at Pacifica intimidatingly. Its pose was striking, not giving into any weakness, and stood their with fists clenched. It wore dark clothes, and its face was hidden in the night. But something tipped Pacifica off that it was _feminine_.

The attacker's voice boomed, addressing a deep voice. "Leave this town."

"Or _what_?" Pacifica retorted, slipping into a phase.

"Paz, I don't think it's a good time for you to talk to it like that." Gideon muttered, slowly getting up. The car lights were on, and the only thing he could see of the creature was its legs. Plus, most of the light was shone onto Pacifica.

"This place is dangerous. If you stay, you're not going to last." the thing said, "Leave and don't tell anybody about this, and I'll promise you won't need a body cast."

"You sound pretty protective of this place." Pacifica narrowed her eyes. "What do you think we're gonna do here? Break some shit that's already broken?"

"No. I'm trying to protect you from them." the thing informed. "And if it means needing to hurt you to achieve that goal, then I'll do it."

"You've got a pretty vague definition of protect." Pacifica remarked.

"I've known worse." the thing responded, jumping off the hood and giving the first blow.

Gideon scurried through his bag in the car, and tried to find any weapon he could get to help Pacifica. But something caught his eye. He checked her bag and found a metal arrow in it.

"Why do you have this?" he asked softly, before getting out and using it like a spear.

Pacifica was surprised when this mystery of a creature was the same height as her, but could send her flying about thirty feet from wherever. Her arm hurt from blocking its first hit, and her ribs feel crushed from a kick that sent her further down the road. It went to the car and pulled Robbie from his seat, breaking off the seatbelt and everything. From behind, Gideon jumped outta nowhere and stabbed the thing in the back.

It cried out in pain, before punching Gideon in the face and sending him tumbling into a pile of trash bags. It threw Robbie over the car and slammed him against the roof. The adult's body was in pain, mostly from the impact, but otherwise he was in shock. Gideon rubbed the back of his head in pain, staggered by the whiplash effect.

The creature pulled out the arrow and tossed it at the ground, its blood tainting its shiny exterior.

"You're more willing than I thought." it remarked, pulling Gideon up by the neck.

"It was more of instinct." he choked, trying to pry its fingers off his neck. _Weird, it's got thin fingers... not scary._

"Hey! Let go of him!" Pacifica shouted, running at them.

"Would it be an insult to say that you're stronger than I thought?" it asked, dropping Gideon and sweep-kicking her legs. Pacifica fell, and before she could get up, it kicked her in the head with enough force to knock her out. Sadly, it did.

The thing headbutted Gideon, the thoughts in his skull feeling dizzy till it stopped working and he fell. It then punched Robbie, who was trying to get up, and slipped into a comatose state. It took a few breaths, staring around its work. Mabel winced as she brushed her hand through her back.

"You guys should've left. Unlike me..."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey there! Not a lot to say here. So... eh.**

 **I'm off, and have a nice day!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ordeal**

 **Chapter 6**

* * *

 _Dipper sighed._

 _The moment the goblin king was going to declare war was today._

 _Last night, he was training Mabel to work with him on this. It didn't work. He couldn't help her improve, neither physically nor mentally. She was just stuck and inexperienced, just like he was in his first days trying to survive. Except, she wasn't as knowledgable as he was, or willing enough. He was taught in hell, where he could do anything without remorse because it's the land of the dead. Here, it was different._

 _There was humanity. You couldn't kill without feeling that dirty taste in your mouth. You couldn't do something without regret. They held weight, and consequences. There was none of that in hell. It was harder to work here, with the most moral person in the world. She kept trying to change him, to try and do things without dropping bodies._

 _He tried changing her as well, telling her that it was necessary. That death needed to happen in this cold world. She told him it was tedious, and that there were other ways. He told her there were none, and this was either kill or be killed._

 _It wasn't helping their relationship either._

 _He hoped... he_ wished _... that this would pass by and he could change Mabel's mind of staying. This was the reason she should leave. It was because of this. Dipper wasn't a good man. He crossed the line of good and bad, but his job was to do good to others and protect them from the bad. He was in the gray. The gray isn't good enough._

 _Mabel was a good person, it's what makes her..._ her _. You couldn't change that. Dipper didn't want that to change her. He didn't want his sister to turn into a copy of him. He didn't want her to see him like this. But it happened, and the former was her destiny if she stayed._

 _He just needed to find a cure for her nightmares, and drop her off at home while she was sleeping. Not much of a convoluted plan. Convoluted plans suck._

"Ty, this is dangerous! We need a plan!" he shouted in a quiet tone.

"Okay! We'll make a plan." an identical voice replied, "We do this your way. But remember... _Remember_ what happened last time."

 _Dipper shivered at that memory. Hell wasn't a good place to remember at this time. But it was needed. He needed to find a way to beat the goblins with their hell incantations and dimensional weaponry. He could burn all their sorcery books, kill the ones with power, and they'll rely on the weaponry. Then he'll create an EMP to fry the circuitry of the weaponry, and BAM, feared by the whole goblin nation._

 _He just wished everything could go according to plan and he could live his terrible life merrily. Or just survive._

 _He had woken his sister up and told her they needed to go._

 _"Why? Can't you just... lie to them?" Mabel asked._

 _"They can sense fear." Dipper answered. "I've tried before. Doesn't work." he added, not explaining the details._

 _Mabel let out a puff of air. "So, what are you going to do now?" she asked, resting her chin on her arm._ _"Sorry, by the way, that I let this all happen."_

 _"It's not your fault I live like this." Dipper remarked, "Best case scenario is that you leave this place as quick as possible."_

 _"Why are you so focused on getting me to leave?" Mabel questioned._

 _"So that you wouldn't have to face any of my problems, or get dragged into it." Dipper replied, before pouting. "You ask too much."_

 _"What? I'm curious!" Mabel justified._

 _The two left to the goblin kingdom, which laid deep within the forest. The trees were doing fine, somehow. Once they opened up to a large land of goblins, Mabel saw a town full of energy. It was a townsfolk that used wood and hay to their advantage, and wore old medieval-styled clothing. Despite Dipper's claims that they were prepared to lash out whenever, Mabel couldn't help but think this town of goblins couldn't hurt a fly. They were just so... delightful._

 _It was vivid, even though the colors were just green, white and brown. Goblins, clothes and wood. It smelled of nature and everything that happened was so peaceful. It lived in a society where there was a thing such as all-trading and it wasn't full of politics. No internet, no hate, no wildfire spread of toxicity. She wanted to live like this. Then, she realized what was happening._

 _It was like... they had lives._

 _Mabel frowned at the fact that Dipper had killed these people before. And from the look on his face, he seemed tired and remorseful. There was pain lying beneath his dark and stormy eyes. And to think that, this town would wage war on him because of what she did._

 _She shouldn't have come here._

 _"Dipper, maybe you're right. I should leave." Mabel panicked._

 _"The damage has been done, Mabel. Besides, it would've happened sooner or later." Dipper responded._

 _The male Pines twin walked towards the castle in the middle of the town with long strides, almost defiantly. Mabel followed shortly, watching as the goblins would slowly hide away and try to ignore them. She would see the kids that were playing get shooed off by their parents, mostly to protect them from what Dipper could do. It was like they recognize him as a threat, and that_ scared _Mabel. The thought that her brother could be a fugitive._

 _Then, she reminded herself, that her brother was a murderer. And for some reason, she understood him. That made her feel_ insane _._

 _They were finally by the entrance of the castle, that was made of stone bricks instead of the wood that was used for the citizens. Dipper didn't seem too surprised when the knights of the kingdom fell into line in front of him, but Mabel was. These goblins were only half as tall as her, but they were more frightening than her._

 _Dipper ignored them and walked into the castle like he owned the place, something she didn't feel right seeing Dipper do. Maybe it was to intimidate, and to show superiority, but it made her feel unjust._

 _They got to the king's throne and found a lone goblin who wore a crown. He seemed young, though. Younger than she expected. Mabel thought the king would have a beard and a wise appearance. But this goblin looked cranky and angry. The instant he laid eyes on Dipper, his own eyes narrowed further into a glare, and she could feel the hate pouring in. It was tense, with Dipper looking awfully calm and the king looking awfully young._ _Mabel could theorize what had happened, but she left it as Dipper killed some of his men and the king hated him for it._

 _The door they entered closed onto themselves, giving a loud BANG._

 _There was silence._

 _The king kept glaring, not sure how to start. He was in his young adult years, but was still inexperienced._

 _"Hunter Pines." the king spat the name with spite, simultaneously breaking the soundless tone of the room. "Do you know how hard is it to command an entire kindgom?"_

 _"No," Dipper replied, ending with a mock, "Sir."_

 _"Do you know the lifetime of us goblins?" the king asked._

 _"Four decades." Dipper replied in a monotone voice._

 _"The time we reach our maturity?" he asked._

 _"A decade." Dipper answered._

 _The goblin king exhausted his portion of questions, staring at Dipper with fascination. He wondered if a human like him could feel the rage inside of him. The feeling of revenge and the intense desire to kill just one person in the entire universe. The king wondered if he knew how much pain he felt, if he had any remorse towards anything he had ever killed. Then, he saw the woman behind him._

 _"Who is this lady you have behind you?" the goblin king asked._

 _Dipper paused. "Just a female of my race."_

 _"Don't lie to me. You've left other females for dead." the king stated. The subtleness meant it was a normal thing for Dipper, which made Mabel inwardly cringe. Her brother was responsible for not saving some people? The goblin king continued, "What makes her special?"_

 _Dipper sighed, struggling to give an answer. After a few moments, he decided to tell the truth. "She's my sister."_

 _The goblin king leaned forward in his throne. They were still thirty feet away from each other, but Mabel felt as though he could smell her from the other side of the room._

 _"_ Family _." the goblin king said, stifling a laugh. "You_ do _have one."_

 _Dipper looked away, shamed._

 _"Do you know what's it like to lose someone close to you?" the king asked. "I lost my father. I inherited his place. You think it's paradise?" He slammed his fist against the throne, causing Mabel to jump back in surprise. "NO! IT_ ISN'T _!" he yelled, "My father shouldn't have to die all because of some cheap shot!"_

 _Dipper remained silent._

 _The king huffed, "I know why you're here. You want to discuss about our deal." he stated, and Dipper glanced at him. The king put a hand on his crown. "You're scared." the goblin king said, "You know how I can tell? You wouldn't have come here in the first place."_

 _Mabel checked on her brother, trying to see if there was anything wrong with him. He was just frozen._

 _"You're afraid, now that I mention about a cheap shot, and you're gonna think I have something against you." The king frowned, "And I do. Hunter Pines, I'm giving you a last chance at our deal."_

 _"What's the catch?" Dipper asked._

 _"You'll know when you see it." the king said, not even smiling once. There was no satisfaction or reward he would gain if Dipper died. There was no feeling of superiority gained or if his revenge would be exacted. "I'm not gonna lie, Dipper. I thought you were my friend..."_

 _It only took a few moments for Dipper to catch what was going on. Even for him, that was pretty slow._

 _"You found out." Dipper said, his voice wavering._

What? What did he find out? _Mabel asked inwardly, raising a brow._ Did Dipper... kill the previous king? It would make sense...

 _"Yes, I_ know _." The goblin replied._

 _"Then why're you giving me a chance?" Dipper asked._

 _The king's eyes seemed distant. It was like he was lost in the universe. "Because, it wouldn't be fair. Wouldn't it?"_

 _The monster hunter felt something in his brain click the pieces together, and that there was someone behind him._

 _"No..." Dipper muttered calmly, turning around, and finding another person waiting for him besides Mabel. He recognized who it was, and felt compelled to kill himself on that very spot. "...no, it wouldn't."_

 _Mabel looked to where Dipper was looking, and was astonished that there was another presence she didn't know about. All she could distinguish was that he was wearing some black, decked out, ninja robes._

 _"Hello, Dipper." the masked assassin smiled, "Remember me?"_

 _A flash went through Dipper's mind. Mabel didn't understand how this man's voice echoed her brother's._

 _"Tyrone..."_

* * *

Gideon woke up, rubbing his head and groaning. He felt as if he had a microwave thrown at his head. The white-haired adult stood up, wincing as he pressed a bruise on his face. That thing hit him one too many times. Gideon looked around and found himself in some kind of cave, which was dimly lit and had holes, that were of average human height, as exits to everywhere. There were so many choices, and Gideon had to pick which one to go through.

"Where am I?" Gideon mumbled, his eyes blurring. He closed them and shouted, "Pacifica! I'm relying on you this time! Where are you?!"

His voice echoed through the passages of the cavern, sending his message everywhere. He should be getting a response in a few seconds.

He didn't.

This place was the cavern in the bunker; the place where the shapeshifter had lived in for thirty years. Gideon wandered around the place, his head hurting a lot, and he suspected he did _some_ bleeding. Luckily, he didn't, and didn't have to face the fact that he could die out here from blood loss. At least, not yet.

"Hughhh..." Gideon breathed out, groaning. He had to pick where to go. This meant he needed to be a true detective and work things out. "If this cave was closed off, there wouldn't be as much wind as there is."

Gideon used this theory to find out where the air current was coming from, and he could only deduce that it was coming from his right side. He turned and explored a bit before discovering that, _whoopie_ , there were more holes leading to that side.

"Come to think of it, I'm _thirsty_." Gideon lied, trying to remember the phrases a TV show used to figure out how they got out of a cavern in one episode. This is not a real thing. "Maybe we could listen to the water droplets and find water in this place first."

He listened closely, believing into television logic, and could only hear the wind and the noises the cave made. It was probably like how a flute worked. By blowing wind into a place, and vibrations would occur out the other holes. Not sure, but Gideon could hear the terrifying screams of the air. Gideon could hear a rhythm. There was a heartbeat, which was his, and his breathing.

"I'm going _nowhere_." Gideon remarked. "I might as well be insane."

"Actually, this is practice for my stealth skills." Mabel informed, swooping down behind him.

"AAHHHH!" Gideon shrieked. He turned and found a tall brunette, wearing the same dark clothes as the attacker, who was staring him down. The white-haired adult stopped screaming and coughed to hide away his embarrassment. "That was predictable." he remarked. "Also, I knew you were a girl."

"Tell me why you're here." Mabel demanded, keeping her eye on him.

"What? No introduction?" he provoked, raising his hands up as a shrug.

"I don't really care." Mabel replied, "Just tell me why you're here. I'll try to help you. And you can go back to your home."

"This is _really_ convenient. Suspiciously convenient." Gideon stated, narrowing his eyes as he took a few seconds to settle her offer. He was deciding whether to tell the truth or a lie, but even if he told the truth, it would still seem like a lie, so... he reached a decision. "Okay... just please don't hit me in the head again."

She crossed her arms. "No promises."

He took a deep breath. "This all started, because of these recurring dreams I'm having. It was in a black and white format, and then there were two characters. One was a girl and the other was a boy. I think they're romantically inclined," Mabel rolled her eyes at that part, which Gideon felt was interesting. "because the boy turned out to be a demon and ran away, while the girl cried when he left."

"I hope you're not another illusion in my head." Mabel remarked, tiredly wiping her eye.

"What? You picked me out of a car, punched me in the head a couple of times, and beat my friends." Gideon informed. "Instead, it should be amazing that I'm even telling you my reason and _not_ punching you."

"My hallucinations are potent. I haven't gotten someone to talk to in these last few years." Mabel stated.

"Anyway, do you have anything, like a clue, to help me and my dreams?" Gideon asked, thinking she couldn't give a straightforward answer and that the cure would be something as convoluted as the world's largest maze. "Oh, and my friends." he almost forgot to add.

"The girl is me and the boy is my brother." Mabel quickly answered in a tired tone.

Gideon raised a brow. "How... How do _you_ know? Nobody's... wha... What _even_?"

Mabel had encountered these dreams before. It was foreshadowing what had happened to her. But since they had failing memory, their subconscious picked up on it later on, ten years to be exact, and gave them visions of the future that had _already_ happened.

"Because my brother, the last person I trusted, turned out to be a demon."

* * *

 **A/N: Wow! I didn't expect to get a hundred views over the period of the last chapter. Thanks, you guys, for reading this story. I just wanted to ask: Which is more interesting? The flashbacks or the present day story? I'd love to know. :)**

 **I'm off, and have a nice day!**

 _(Also, why are there two character slots for Gideon? I mean, Lil Gideon and Gideon are the same person. Someone should have that fixed...)_


	7. Chapter 7

**Ordeal**

 **Chapter 7**

* * *

Pacifica was a liar and Robbie pissed his pants.

With Pacifica, all she could tell was that she was lying and she couldn't be trusted. Her sarcasm was a given, though. With Robbie, he told her one too many things because he was a wimp. With Gideon, it was fine and he gave all that she needed to know.

That was all Mabel could conclude, but of course, she didn't get their names. Except for Robbie. But Mabel didn't really remember any of them, since she had a poor memory after, oh, surviving the town and memorizing the journals for seven years. So, she didn't know their names or how they were so alike to some people she thought she knew. Mabel trashed it as some illusion her brain was pulling.

She knew that these nightmares were the same as the one she had gotten. It had the same premise. There was a black and white dream, taken in Gravity Falls, where a girl kept running away from triangles, as the boy turns into a demon and flies away, leaving the girl. Mabel was the girl and Dipper was, _sadly_ , the demon. The triangles were Bill Cipher. She knew that. Bill played a part in her adventure, but it was nothing too major. It was all the same.

But her gut tells her it was different.

Her gut tells her Bill Cipher was coming back.

"That's not possible," she told herself, washing her face in the bathroom. "Bill died years ago. Now he's rotting in _cratheos_. That tri-son of a bitch." Mabel closed her eyes, leaning against the mirror. "But he could do anything... what if it happens? What if the last time he was resurrected, that wasn't what the dreams meant?"

She looked back at the mirror, and for a split second, her reflection was identical to that demonic Dipper. With real horns, black, feathery wings and crimson eyes. But it went away the moment she saw it. She shrugged it off, like it was a normal thing she would experience. But the strange thing was, there was someone else in the reflection, staring at her. She recognize it the second it stared at her, and if memory served right, it was practically nothing.

She caught a small glimpse of it, before turning back, finding nothing there in the bathroom with her. It was evidence to that 'practically nothing', to which she felt relieved. She looked back, and was face to face with the mirror demon, Lebam.

Legend told that, Lebam would be a reflection of you. It will mirror whoever you are, and drive you insane in reflections, till it could harvest your soul for death. Funny thing is, she couldn't harvest Mabel's soul. The name Mabel was a curse to her, and that the name was the original person Lebam had been before she spirited away. So, she couldn't reap herself.

But she could still drive her crazy.

Mabel watched as Lebam grinned at her, sitting on air in the mirror and snickering. "My dad really was a genius." It had been so long since Mabel heard that voice. Three years to be exact. But her mentioning her dad? That was something new.

"How so?" Mabel asked, not caring if she was just talking to a mirror.

"He's making you doubt yourself." Lebam said as she looked at her fingernails, not making any eye contact with Mabel.

Mabel bit her lip. There was no point in arguing with her, even if she just communicated with her. The mirror overlord didn't care if she went away. If there was any way to defeat her, it was to bore her. But Mabel couldn't do that if Lebam's goal was to irritate her by being in her presence. So, one of Mabel's ways to beat her was to bail the conversation and walk away, ignoring other mirrors.

And that's what Mabel did.

* * *

 _"DIPPER!" Mabel shouted after him._

 _Dipper's back shattered the glass windows of the castle, and landed into the training facility of the kingdom._

 _Most of the goblins there stopped whatever they were doing, and ran off to safety. Dipper was a monster to their eyes. A_ killer _. A_ murderer _. And he was able to kill any one of them if he chose to. Even while he's downed, it just takes a couple of seconds for him to end their life._

 _The masked assassin leaped out the shattered window, not needing to break anymore glass shards as he fell through. He landed in front of Dipper, who got back up on his feet and struck Tyrone in the jaw to faze him. It didn't work out as planned, and he got a kick to the chest instead. It was like a push, but this demon-clone was crazy strong, so it turned into a car-like shove. Dipper's body flew forty feet back, his feet digging into the dirt and preventing him from going any further._

 _Tyrone strode towards him, like he was a heavy tank that was moving its fastest towards Dipper. The gear he put on made him seem like_ too _much, but there was never enough for this crazy clone. Tyrone had black ninja robes, that was established, but he also had an array untested military armor. Helmet, shoulder pads, bulletproof vest, knee pads, boots, gauntlets... whatever. And a few straps that do nothing but give him a place to tack on weapons._

 _All Dipper had against that was nothing but his wit and whatever was in his magical, blue coat and gray pants pockets. His mind raced through strategies to beat him, but whatever he was thinking, was already thought through by Tyrone. After all, this revenge act was planned by the demonic_ clone _. Dipper dug into his pockets and pulled out a jade crystal, using its energy to disperse cyan telekinetic rays._

 _It was like Gideon's amulet, except, with only the magic and the crystal source._

 _Dipper felt a glow run through his body, and his eyes burning with light. With a single thought, he lifted the tents from the training facility and threw it at the military ninja. Tyrone deflected the tents with a backhand, like they were only nuisances to him. It's not everyday you get someone psychically throwing tents at you and you just smack them with an arm and continue your life. No, this was not normal._

 _Tyrone grunted, after moments of silence since this fight started, his voice was heard again._

 _"What's it like to feel desperate?" Tyrone asked. "Really. I'm serious. I never felt a moment to be backed into a corner."_

 _Dipper hesitated to retort, but found out he was only talking to make him lose focus. As he was thinking of talking to him, Tyrone was in his range, and he had to use the most of this powerful crystal before it ran out. Eyes blazing with green light, Dipper let out a burst of energy that came through the jade shard and burned up everything that was in his perimeter. Something Gideon had done before: disintegrating things._

 _Tyrone caught a hint of what's happening. "Aw shi..."_

 _BSHOOOOM! Tyrone was amazed at this power, holding his arms in front of his face to shield himself from it. However, he got caught in the upward explosion of green energy, and was trapped in the hellish burns of the power of a magical, telekinetic crystal._

 _With Mabel, she was terrified at what was happening, and how this all went downhill_ fast _. She didn't know what was happening to Dipper, but that green light only made her think he was attacked by some sort of incantation from hell. She was about to rush through the castle, but the goblin king stopped her in her way._

 _"Don't." he said._

 _"Get outta my way!" Mabel shouted._

 _"You know, if I knew you were his sister, I would've planned against you instead." the king informed coldly. "But I didn't. You should be lucky..." He took a second glance at her. "But maybe you feeling your brother dying in front of you is a better punishment for him. So that he could feel how it's like to die_ failing _..."_

 _He thought about it for a moment._

 _"Go ahead." the goblin king said, letting her through._

 _Mabel ran after the battle._

 _The shard Dipper had, dissipated and crushed itself from its own power, meaning it turned to dust. Dipper was surprised by how short it lasted, and how the glow suddenly vanished. The energy flickered away and Tyrone's armor was smoking from the attack, seemingly unharmed by how he moved. The clone took a few seconds to regain his stature, before striking Dipper into the grass, and out of the burned, dead, circular soil he created. The monster hunter dug into his pockets again, getting a pen._

 _"More of your toys?" Tyrone asked, grabbing his hand and crushing his bones, also crushing the pen he had. "I told you, you're a big boy. You don't need any of those."_

 _"AAGGHHHH!" Dipper shouted in agony, clutching at his wrist. The gruesome feeling of having your left hand crushed by the force of probably the strongest thing in the world, was terrible. And now his pen was crushed. He hated that. His adrenaline fought through the pain, as he backed away and snapped his bones back into place._

 _"That's not gonna do you any good." Tyrone remarked, catching his arm and pulling it away from healing his broken hand. "You're still gonna have fractures."_

 _Dipper kicked him in the leg, twice. But it didn't have any effect. He did a graceful jump over the ninja, using the momentum to pull his arm forward and throw Tyrone to the ground. Dipper pulled a dagger from his back pocket, still wincing that it was his broken hand that was doing the work, and stabbing it forcefully into his clone's vest. Fortunately, it worked, because the blade was made of a substance from hell._

 _"I've just noticed you didn't seem to have a reaction to finding out I was here. Were you saying you counted on this all along?" Tyrone asked, in a taunting tone, like he wasn't feeling the wound of the dagger being stuck in his chest. With_ _Dipper being silent, he continued. "If so, you should've prepared yourself."_

 _Dipper pulled out his dagger and ferociously stabbed him a few other times, but Tyrone only felt it as a annoyances, and swatted his dagger away. Unarmed, Dipper had to get out of that situation. Instantly after that, Dipper kicked at him, but rebounded. However, that was part of his plan. If his kick was successful, he had a few seconds of stalling. If his kick goes unsuccessful, he would be propelled to the direction of his knife and he would be armed again._

 _Except... Tyrone grabbed his leg._

 _Mabel had dashed over to the fields, picking up a grappling hook from one of the traning boxes the goblins had. She worked her way through the advanced controls of the device, trying to figure out how to use her favorite tool back in the day._

 _"C'mon, work! Dipper needs my help!" Mabel cried, jamming buttons. "I can't lose him!"_

 _Meanwhile, Tyrone slammed him against the ground, a forceful impact on his body. Dipper groaned in pain, his back aching and all other parts of his body breaking. Tyrone's gauntlet opened up a set of dual laser claws, and held it above Dipper's eyes._

 _"What's this? Didn't think I'd have a few tools?" Tyrone asked, seeing Dipper struggle and surprised to see that. "We've known to prepare ourselves. But one thing you lack that I don't is... the_ power _." Tyrone pinned him in the ground by holding his neck against it. "You want power to control them. But you don't have that. I do. And you're jealous."_

 _SSSSSS... That was the sound of burning flesh._

 _"YyaAAGHHHHH!" the monster hunter screamed._

 _The claws were being pushed into his stomach. The blue ionized laser was cutting through his flesh, stinging and burning Dipper alive. It felt like he went to hell and back, except he_ knew _how it was like._

 _Mabel watched in horror as she saw her brother getting stabbed. That awe turned into anger, and that led to her cocking the grappling hook and shooting it through Tyrone's padded armor. It punctured through his skin and lung, which made him stagger back and let go of his... laser claws._

 _"LET GO OF HIM!" she shouted, and Tyrone did, in a great deal of anguish. Dipper seethed, trembling and experiencing muscle spasm as he was bleeding out. Mabel rushed over to her brother, grappling gun still pointed at Tyrone. She glared at him, and cocked the gun back and pulled the hook back through Tyrone's body. The feeling of this cold and relentless attitude felt natural to Mabel. It made her relax, seeing her enemies weaken._

 _Mabel pulled her brother up, placing his arm over her neck. She took his limping body into the forest, gun pointed at anyone who dared come across her. Tyrone didn't intervene, and let them escape._

 _The hunter huffed, his state weakening every second. "I didn't think you'd..." He_ _passed out._

* * *

Gideon looked around the hallway Mabel was leading him through. It was cold, metal and smooth. Also dusty, since nobody had cleaned it. Gideon was still wary of Mabel, knowing she could rip out his heart at any given moment. Figuratively and literally.

 _I can imagine her being my girlfriend... for some reason._ Gideon mused, feeling sick of his thoughts. _I don't know why, but I do. What's_ wrong _with me?_

"Okay, Gideon, I want you to get your friends out of here and _never_ come back." Mabel instructed, pulling out a familiar weapon. It was a gun that had lightbulbs on it and a metal dish. "But before that, I'll need to do something to erase your nightmares. And I'll need to get the full consent of your friends."

"Why don't you just do it? Why do you need our consent?" Gideon asked, "And why do _I_ have to get my friends out? Can't the girl do it? She's less of a wuss than me."

"Because what I'm about to do will heavily violate human rights." Mabel answered, "And with your last questions, it's because I trust you more than them."

"Not to sound like a broken record, but _why_?" Gideon inquired.

Mabel stopped outside of the hallway, revealing her bunker to Gideon, who kept his distance of ten inches from Mabel. To him, the bunker was a mess, with papers and boards everywhere, a couch, canned meat and water hastily placed on a table. Cabinets were either destroyed or pushed down, and the lucky ones were still standing. Gideon didn't want to set foot in there.

"Because, you're the only one that's honest." Mabel remarked, "That blonde girl lies and the hoodie guy is too much of a pansy. You're the only one that has the best intentions out of the three."

Gideon was silent for a moment, trying to think of questions that this woman could answer. "What will you do to us that 'heavily violates' our human rights?"

"I'll erase your memories." Mabel said.

"Woah, woah, woah." Gideon took a step back, his arms holding up. "You're gonna give us _amnesia_?" He then stopped and thought about it. "Well, I was thinking about doing the same thing just a few hours ago... I shouldn't be complaining."

Mabel sighed, rubbing the spot where Gideon stabbed her with an arrow. "I'm going to go to hell. I need to check on something." she informed, looking through her cupboards for a book so that she could do her task.

Gideon raised a brow. "Go to... _hell_?"

* * *

 **A/N: I didn't know how to end it, so I'm ending it here. I'd still like to know which story is more interesting to you: flashback or present?**

 **I'm out, and have a nice day!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ordeal**

 **Chapter 8**

* * *

Mabel stared at Gideon, who was amazed about the second journal.

She gave it to him to see if she could jog his memory. As an experiment. Yes, he was her guinea pig, but he was more of a volunteer. She wanted to see if he could remember anything from the past before the memory wipe happened. But from the look of his face, that didn't seem to be the case.

"This book is just... so _conflicting_." Gideon remarked, flipping through the pages. He stopped at the amulet page before looking at Mabel. "I don't know what these are. I didn't even know this existed. My thoughts tell me similar passages from this before I even turn the page. But the _touch_..." He sifted his finger through the page. "...it feels like I've held it before."

"You have." Mabel informed. "A decade ago."

Gideon narrowed his eyes at her in confusion, before glancing at the memory wiper she placed on the table. He looked back and saw her nodding.

"Thi... This is what... That's how powerful the memory wiper _is_?" Gideon stammered, disturbed that there was something in the world that could literally _eradicate_ memories from his brain like they never happened in the first place. It just... felt weird. It was like you were missing a part of yourself. You never do realize, until you saw the truth, and you _just_... feel lost.

You start to question what other things you forget. If there was anything memorable that you didn't recall. Anything extreme that happened that you took part in, but was never credited for. You feel so lost, so misguided. You feel like something nasty just tore something out of your brain without permission. You feel brainwashed, unable to tell from right or wrong.

"Yes." Mabel answered, nodding.

Gideon shivered. Having these two days completely gone from his head? Was it worth the lies he would tell himself? Just think of the questions he would be asking himself about this whole thing. Would he be able to stay sane after getting another shot at this? And what about the questions he had in his mind right now?

 _What happened a decade ago?!_

 _Is this why I don't know what happened to Gravity Falls?_

 _Is this why Gravity Falls cut itself from the public eye?_

 _Is that why nobody else remembered this place?_

 _We left Gravity Falls eight years ago. They shut it down seven years ago. And I know of_ nothing _that happened ten years ago. That doesn't make sense!_

 _How come Mabel knows?_

 _Why does she remember?!_

 _Of all my memories, I don't recall her. Not even once! I don't even remember her, but I know everyone else in Gravity Falls! Why is_ she _so important?_

Gideon stared at Mabel with envy. He remembered he was on top of his game in Gravity Falls back then. He should be the important one that at least remembered. But instead, it was her, _Mabel_. Who the hell is _Mabel_? And what happened during that _year_ ten years ago!? It was so _frustrating_!

"W-Why do you... _remember_?" Gideon stuttered, before regaining full confidence in himself. "Why are _you_ the only person that remembered?!" he shouted. "Did you have something to do with the memory wipe? Do you, I mean— _did_ you know me?"

"I do know you, Gideon." Mabel answered sternly. "You accepted your fate to erase your memories."

"Why? Why did I _do_ that?!" Gideon questioned, "Why would I want to forget a whole year, and _your_ well-being?"

That was when he made his decision. Erasing part of your memory... wasn't all that great of an idea. Mabel knew the same, seeing her experiment turn out into a failure. She couldn't use the memory wiper on him after all. He wouldn't want to experience this. And he wouldn't have anyone to turn to for answers, because only _she_ knew. And she might not be able to provide those answers soon.

She scratched at her heart.

"I'm not doing this." Gideon said, talking about the memory wiper. " _They_ are _also_ not doing this."

Mabel nodded. "I understand."

Gideon didn't know what to say next. It was awkward around Mabel. She was a stranger who _knew_ him as a friend. But he didn't even know her. He didn't know what to do next. "What... How did we become friends?"

Mabel glanced at the cupboard to her right. Stored in it were most of the symbols on the Cipher wheel. The _Pine Tree_ hat, the _Shooting Star_ sweater, the _Question Mark_ merch, the _Stitched Heart_ hoodie, the ' _Decarabia Star'_ , and the ' _Wild Card_ ' fez. It was nicknamed Wild Card because of how random it was. The golden symbol would just _change_ , and reality would change according to the symbol as well, like its symbolization couldn't pick what it was most certified with. Thus, it was the Wild Card.

"We weren't friends, per se." she informed. "Maybe... _acquaintances_ would be a better word."

"What hap—" Gideon was cutt off by a buzzing alarm coming from Mabel.

The brunette picked out a flat device from her coat pocket, which flashed on and displaying a hologram. Gideon stumbled backwards from the staggering blue light, unable to comprehend how technology here was far advanced from the modern era. If it had been a decade, then how did Mabel get her hands on something like that? Unless she made it, then that's possible.

Mabel's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Great... the blonde escaped."

"Wait, Pacifica?" Gideon guessed. He smacked himself in the head right after saying that. _No duh! Who else around here except Pacifica is_ blond _? Robbie?! No way in hell._

That last word repeated in his head.

 _Hell..._

That's where Mabel was planning to head to. The word gave him chills and made him subconsciously refrain himself from using the word again. If hell was a real place, and that Mabel was going to, then it shouldn't be used as a word to throw around.

Mabel looked tired. "Yeah... the liar."

She closed the device and walked towards the exit, pulling Gideon by the arm. He felt himself freeze once she touched him. He shrugged her grip off and backed away. "Hey now... where're we going?"

Mabel rolled her eyes. "We're getting my escaping Llama." _Nature's greatest warriors..._

* * *

 _Mabel was getting tired of having to carry a wounded Dipper around._

 _"I didn't think you'd do it." he hoarsely remarked._

 _"You're my twin brother. 'Course I would." Mabel replied, trying to stay calm in such a heavy situation. She'd just gone through the reality that her brother was a murderer, got brutally thrashed around, now bleeding everywhere and in her care. She didn't know how to fix him! What the heck are they supposed to do now?!_

 _"It wasn't in your nature." Dipper randomly said._

 _"It... felt like it." Mabel replied._

 _"No. That's just the feeling of denial." Dipper informed, painfully ignoring the hole in his waist. "I've felt that way before. To feel like it's a second skin I wear. To justify that I'm supposed to feel brave and proud of what I did. That I shouldn't be weighed down because I did something_ bad _. But it's actually me being in denial of what I did."_

 _Listening to Dipper's wise words was one thing, and actually feeling him going through blood loss was another. Mabel took his words to heart, believing that what she felt was just her brain trying to calm her down and make her feel brave when she wasn't. It made her self-esteem drop a bit._

 _Trekking through the forest alone with her crippled brother was getting to her nerves. Mabel was thinking like her brother now, consciously reminding herself of an incoming attack. She'd visualize what the fight would look like, how she'd perfectly protect Dipper and leave him without any further injuries, and beat the attacker with no sweat. Then, there's the second visual, in which she fails completely and dies because she tripped on a twig._

 _Mabel shook that out of her head and focused on helping Dipper. "So what do we do now?" she asked, heaving her brother up._

 _"We need to go somewhere to clean all this blood." Dipper replied, "And to fix me up."_

 _Mabel's eyes darted towards the sides, looking behind their backs and their fronts. "Where?"_

 _Dipper's hand shakily pulled out a map from his coat pocket, which was painted with a crimson color. "I need to get to the cave. I know someone there that could help me."_

 _"A friend?" she asked inquisitively._

 _Dipper's eyes darkened with fatigue. Sweat started to pour through his shirt, like the blood didn't make it wet enough. "You could say... he's more of a nephew." He panted between sentences._

 _"We don't have a brother." Mabel stated._

 _"I just said... he's more of a... nephew." He breathed out._

 _Mabel strapped the grapple gun to her back and took the paper in Dipper's hand. She skimmed through the details and tried to find the path they were on. They were in the middle of the forest, there didn't seem to be any recognizable landmarks. She gave her hunch a try and continued themselves onward to a cave. She was unsure about it, but she felt like it was there._

 _As she dragged her younger brother, she didn't expect him to stay calm. Mabel thought he'd give more outward expressions, rather than the usual 'I'm slightly tired and pained of everything' look. It was like he'd gone through this before and it wasn't that traumatizing. Mabel looked like that scenario could replay in her head multiple times and it would still scare her, while Dipper looked like he could shrug off being stabbed and continue on with his troublesome life._

 _"Why are you so stoic all the time?" Mabel inquired, with a bit of a complaining tone._

 _She could hear Dipper's heavy breaths from an arm's length. "It's better than... screaming all the time... and wincing all the time... But if you wanna know... I'm hurting inside..."_

 _"Figures." she responded. "I'm worrying my butt off and you're not show a hint of being damaged. Do I need to get you help? Or should we stop here? It's really hard to see if you're actually hurting from this."_

 _"Mabel... don't..." Dipper's voice trembled, his grip on Mabel loosening._

 _"Okay, fine." Mabel kept walking, pulling her brother up from falling. "I'm just... traumatized. You know all that. Right?"_

 _"Yeah..." His vision began to darken, eyelids growing heavy._

 _Dipper fainted._

 _Mabel felt him slump over. His breathing was still there, but he looked completely dead otherwise._

 _"Omigosh! Dipper!_ Dipper _!" Mabel shook him, and he woke up with a snap, shaking his head. "Oh god, you're still alive." she hugged him tight._

 _"I don't plan on dying anytime soon, Mabel." Dipper grumbled._

 _"Don't scare me like that!" she yelled._

 _"I can't help it." he deadpanned. "I_ really _can't. Seriously."_

 _"I need to get you to that cave before you pass out again!" Mabel quickened her pace, her tired legs pushing forward. "What kind of older sister am I?"_

 _"You're... my older sister?" Dipper said, his feet dragging against the leaves and twigs on the floor. "...woah. I... forgot... how long has it_ been _?"_

 _"Three years."_

 _"...Three? I'm so sorry." Dipper apologized. "This isn't... quite up your alley."_

 _"We've had this conversation before." Mabel informed._

 _"All this time... I could've sworn... I was the older one..." Dipper stated._

 _The optimistic twin contemplated at her other half for a moment, before speaking. "Hell must've been an agonizing place."_

 _Dipper groaned._

 _"It is."_

* * *

Pacifica was running through the forests of Gravity Falls, clutching at her bloodied shoulder. Her sneakers crunched against the fallen leaves of the pine trees that made up most of the forest, leaving a trail of noises in her wake. She had just escaped an underground level in the history museum, and it only costed a puncture in her shoulder, which was bleeding really bad.

"Damn it..." she muttered, every part of her right arm was numbing. "I need to find a way..."

She winced as her shoulder accidentally bumped into a twig, feeling it scrape through the wound and tug on her skin, revealing more of her crimson fluid. Pacifica ripped the bottom part of her shirt, and tied it around her shoulder using one hand, which was an advanced move that not a lot of people could do. It stopped the blood from spreading, but it hurt even more since the fabric was touching her bare flesh.

"If I could head back to that store... grab what I gathered... and fix myself up. I could get Gideon and Robbie out of that place." Pacifica mused, teeth grinding from the burning sensation of her shoulder. It felt like a part of her was in the process of being missing, like her arm would just tear off. "Maybe even kill that girl. I could... probably..."

She fumbled through her hair, bloodied fingers staining her golden locks.

"...mostly never? Can I... Is it even possible?" she reassessed the situation, planning to defeat Mabel, find where Gideon and Robbie are, and finally get out of Gravity Falls. "I need to keep her alive to get answers from her. But then I can't use lethal force, since I'm not supposed to kill her. But I can't trap her if I don't use lethal force! I don't have enough strength!"

Pacifica stopped ranting. She noticed she wasn't even moving anymore. She was lost in the forest. There was a cave nearby, and just pine trees surrounding the area with clustered leaves scattered on the ground. She knew if Mabel had experience, then these leaves were hiding traps. But then she hadn't triggered any of them, so that meant there were no traps. But maybe that was part of the idea, to lure the enemy to thinking there wasn't anything, and trap her in a cage.

Pacifica glared at the patches of dying leaves.

"I can do this." she told herself. "I've done it before. I can do it again. I can win this fight."

Pacifica headed over towards the cave, thinking of taking a break first before going into the town. She looked around to see if anything supernatural was going on, but everything was just normal. Except for the wooden cabin that was in the cave she stepped into.

Pacifica ignored how absurd it was, to have a log cabin hidden in the cave. She was sure the people who made it had a reason to do so, maybe it was a tactic to hide easier while having the same properties as a welcoming vacation home. She didn't know entirely, but it was nice to see that it existed. What creeped her out was that nobody was home. This cabin's door was unlocked and she peeked in. She reminded herself of Goldilocks and how she'd been breaking shit around three bears' house.

They both had blonde hair. This cabin was just sitting around in the middle of nowhere. What are the chances that it was made by three bears?

With all the crazy things in Gravity Falls: almost certain to happen.

She walked in and found a dining table and a sofa. Then there was a fireplace, with picutres placed on it. Pacifica glanced at a picture frame and saw a brown-haired boy standing next to a... a...

"Three-headed bear?" she asked herself, raising a brow. "Those exist?"

The blonde looked at more pictures that stood next to the frame and found more pictures of the same bear. A _three_ -headed bear. Pacifica shook her head, deciding it was best to not think about it and work on preparing to get Gideon and Robbie out of Gravity Falls. She was in a house with plenty of materials to get her started. So, she started breaking shit.

Yup, she was Goldilocks.

* * *

 **A/N: Ooh! A long review! Those are my favorite. :3 Thanks for the feedback, ACeros! And I'd like to see what others think of the flashback and present situations.**

 **I'm out, and have a nice day!**


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